Nobel Peace Prize 2014 Gallery

Nobel Peace Prize 2014 Gallery

Let Us March!

December 10, 2014

10 December 2014, Oslo: Beginning his Nobel acceptance speech at Oslo City Hall with the ancient words of wisdom from the Vedas,2014 Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi dedicated his prize to all children, child rights activists and fellow Indians. He said, “I am representing here - the sound of silence, the cry of innocence and the face of invisibility. I represent the millions of children who are left behind and I have kept an empty chair here as a reminder. I have come here only to share the voices and dreams of our children - because they are all our children.”

Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai were jointly awarded The Nobel Peace Prize 2014 “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.”

Malala Yousafzai in her Nobel acceptance speech said “Education is one of the blessings of life. I am not a lone voice. I am many. I am those 66 million girls who are deprived of education. I am the voice of those 66 million girls. She further said “We will see conflicts in which children become orphans; children who lose their life; children in Africa who do not have access to education because of poverty. World leaders must seize the opportunity to make free quality primary and secondary education for all children a priority.”

Refusing to accept the apathy and ignorance of children’s rights globally, Kailash outlined his dream by asserting, “My only aim in life is that every child is free to be a child; free to grow and develop; free to eat; sleep, see daylight; free to laugh and cry; free to play and learn; free to go to school, and above all free to dream.”

In today’s world, he said, “There is no greater violence than to deny the dreams of our children” and held that “the biggest crises knocking on the doors of humanity today are fear and intolerance.” Reiterating the power of education he said, “Rights, security and hope can only be restored through education”.

Kailash Satyarthi called on the world to inculcate and transform the individuals’ compassion for children into a global movement and also urged each one to“globalise compassion”. He added that for the world to be safe, secure and peaceful for all children, collective action with a sense of urgency is required because “every single minute matters, every single child matters, every single childhood matters.” He called upon all the governments, intergovernmental agencies, businesses, faith leaders, workers, teachers and NGOs, and global citizens to put an end to all forms of violence against children. He affirmed“Slavery, trafficking, child marriages, child labour, sexual abuse, and illiteracy have no place in any civilised society.”

Giving a clarion call he called for a march from exploitation to education, from poverty to shared prosperity, from slavery to liberty, and from violence to peace led by children and the youth.